Alzheimer Disease ; immunology ; therapy ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; antagonists & inhibitors ; immunology ; metabolism ; Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; therapeutic use ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain ; drug effects ; immunology ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Humans

Objective To investigate the effects of three procedures for hysterectomy.Methods The clinical characteristics of 370 cases who respectively received hysterectomy by total transabdominal hysterectomy(TAH,150 cases),transvaginal hysterectomy(TVH,120 cases),or laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy(LAVH,100 cases)were analyzed and their effects and outcomes and the expenses for medical treatment were compared from 2000 January to 2005 December.Results The average operation time of TAH,TVH and LAVH was(78?28) minutes,(102?35)minutes,(119?28)minutes respectively.The average operation time of TAH was significantly shorter than that of TVH and LAVH groups(P＜0.01).The volume of hemorrhage during operation in TAH group was less than that of other two groups significantly[TAH(53?29)ml,TVH(110?35)ml,LAVH(93?50 )ml](P＜0.01).The average time of bowel function recovery in TAH group[(42?7)hours]was significantly longer than that of TVH[(23?5)hours]or LAVH[(25?4) hours]groups(P＜0.01).The average hospital stay after opera- tion in TAH[(8.9?1.1)days]group was significantly longer than that of TVH[(5.7?2.4)days]or LAVH [(6.3?1.9)days] groups(P＜0.01).The average expenses for medical treatment in LAVH[(7273?938)yuans] group was significantly more than that of TAH[(5594?308)yuans]or TVH[(5450?167)yuans]groups(P＜0.01).But the lesion and the complication after operation of three groups had no difference.Conclusion Different procedures for total hysterectomy have their own advantage and disadvantage.The operation procedure must take ac- count of the economy,echnique of medical treatment and the condition of the hospital.

OBJECTIVETo develop a life quality scale suitable for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, objectively reflecting its changes.

METHODSAuthors first put forward a theoretical structure model of a scale according to patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale formulation principle by combining basic theories of Chinese medicine (CM). Then authors developed an initial scale on the basis of various life quality scales for respiratory disease patients by using structural decision making. Totally 34 patients with confirmed diagnosis of IPF were tested by questionnaire. Items were screened using expert importance scoring method, factor analysis, correlation coefficient method, Cronbach's alpha coefficient method. IPF patient reported outcomes (IPF PRO, IP) were finally defined.

RESULTSA new IP scale was developed covering three areas and 38 items. Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of clinical symptom scores in ST-George Respiratory Questionnaire and IP scale was 0.828 (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of activity ability scores was 0.929 (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of total scores was 0.862 (P < 0.01). By reliability of IP scale itself (reliability) analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.713. By using factor analysis method for data analysis, KMO statistics was 0.902.

CONCLUSIONIP scale fully reflected the connotation of IPF patients' quality of life, so it could be used as CM clinical therapeutic effect evaluation tool.

Fungal polyketide synthases are responsible for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as pigments, mycotoxins, and they are very important in pharmacology , food science and agriculture. The recent advances in the methods for the isolation and manipulation of multiple classes of polyketide synthase genes from fungi were introduced. It is useful for discovery of novel fungal polyketide synthase gene clusters. These methods can also be useful for revealing the genetic potential of fungi to produce multiple types of bioactive polyketide.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of electron beam computed tomography (EBCT)in the diagnosis of atherosclerotic aortic ulcer.Methods Sixty-eight consecutive patients(55 men and 13 women,aged 40—85 years,mean 65.12?9.55 years)with atherosclerotic aortic ulcer,who underwent EBCT scans from December 2001 to December 2004,were studied retrospectively.Contrast- enhanced continuous volume scanning(CVS)was performed by Imatron C-150XP EBCT scanner with 6 mm or 3 mm slice thickness and 100 milliseconds acquisition time.The scan was started 18—30 s after the injection of 80—100 ml contrast medium at the rate of 3.5—4.5 ml/s.Results In sixty-eight patients with atherosclerotie aortic ulcer,50 patients had acute aortic syndromes,36 had intramural hematomas,15 had atherosclerotic aortic aneurysms,3 had aortic dissections.46 patients with progresive ulcer usually had acute aortic syndrome while 22 patients with stable ulcer didn't(P

Objective To study the diagnostic and prognostic values by magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and computed tomography(CT) for investigation of infantile spasms(IS).Methods Fourty-two patients with IS were retrospectively reviewed by CT scan and MRI T1W,T2W and inversion recovery (IR) and MRA techniques.Results Fourteen cases were found abnormal in CT,including encephalatrophy,hemorrhage,gross malformation and lesions with underlying calcification;MRI studies of 24/28 cases showed that MRI was the most appropriate imaging technique in diagnosis of the underlying substrate of patients with IS and other epilepsies,particularly in periventricular leuko malacia(PL),delayedmyelination(DM),hypxic-ischemic encephalopathy(HIE),kernicterus,tuberous sclerosis(TS),hippocampal sclerosis(HS),brainstematrophy,heterotopia,corpus callosum and vascular malformation,et al.MRI was also valuable for determining the prognoses of IS,but it should be combined with the clinical symptom and ages. Conclusions MRI and CT are highly important for the investigation and treatment of patients with IS; MRI is much more sensitive to exploration of neuropathology of infatile spasms,such as PL,DM,HIE,kernicteus,HS,heterotopias and focally cortical dysplasia.

OBJECTIVE:To promote rational clinical use of drugs by the aid of computer.METHODS:The databases for basic data of drugs,irrational use of commonly-used drugs,compatibility of agents for injection and consultation for drug use in periods of prequancy and lactation were established.Modules for inquiry,addition,revision,deletion and maintaince were designed.The computer real time monitoring system for rational clinical use of drugs was thus developed.RESULTS&CONCLUSION:This system is simple,flexible and quick,and can check the prescription and provide consultation for compatibility between drugs.It is suitable for extensive use in clinical practice.

Traditional herbal medicines, Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium and Panax notoginseng, attract our attention for their extensive and powerful pharmacological activities. Ginsenosides are the main active constituents of these medicinal herbs. The related glycosyltransferases involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis are the key enzymes which catalyze the last important step. Modification of ginsenoside aglycones by glycosyltransferases produces the complexity and diversity of ginsenosides, which have more extensive pharmacological activity. At present, ginsenoside aglycones and compound K have been obtained by synthetic biology. As the last step of ginsenoside biosynthesis, glycosylation of ginsenoside aglycones has been studied intensively in recent years. This review summarizes the basic strategies and research advances in studies on glycosyltransferases involved in ginsenoside biosynthesis, which is expected to lay the theoretical foundation for the in-depth research of biosynthetic pathway of ginsenosides and their production by synthetic biology.
Biosynthetic Pathways ; Ginsenosides ; biosynthesis ; Glycosyltransferases ; metabolism ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Synthetic Biology

Protein splicing is a newly discovered posttranslational editing process that removes an internal protein fragment from the protein precursor. During the splicing process the internal protein fragment, intein, triggered the self-excision from the precursor protein and the concomitant ligation of the flanking protein fragments, exteins. The self-catalysis requires neither auxiliary enzymes nor cofactors and only involves four intramolecular reactions. A number of key catalytic residues in inteins and flanking fragments have been identified, which led to the development of the protein splicing process as a protein engineering tool. Controllable cleavage of the peptide bond at either the N or the C terminus of an intein has allowed the design of novel strategies for manipulation of protein and peptides. Affinity purification of recombinant proteins can be facilitated by fusion the target protein with an intein. The fusion also creates C-terminal thioester, which expands the scope of chemical ligation in protein. Inteins can be engineered in a "split and inverted" configuration to form a cyclic polypeptide consisting of the sequence linking two intein subdomains. This article summarizes the recent advance in the mechanism of protein splicing and its applications in protein purification, protein ligation and protein cyclization.
Inteins ; genetics ; physiology ; Peptides, Cyclic ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Protein Engineering ; methods ; Protein Splicing ; genetics ; physiology ; Proteins ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism

Pichia pastoris is one of the most important systems used in the field of molecular biology for the expression of recombinant proteins. The system has advantages of high expression, high stability, high secretion, easy high-density fermentation and low cost. Many factors affect the expression of recombinant protein, such as gene copy number, codon usage preference, type of promoter, molecular chaperones, glycosylation, signal peptide and fermentation process. In this review, research advances of the above aspects are summarized, which lay a foundation for improving the expression of recombinant proteins in P. pastoris.
Fermentation ; Gene Dosage ; Glycosylation ; Molecular Chaperones ; Pichia ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Protein Sorting Signals ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis